Why We Love It

There have been various moments in time when I have felt a real connection with nature, a deeper sense of understanding that everything’s connected somehow, that everything living forms a piece of a gigantic and apparently unsolvable puzzle. Scientists like Charles Darwin pursued this line of thinking with fervent zeal, joining others who since time immemorial have pondered the question of man’s place in the world through vigorous academic and theological debate. Although not having an answer to the great mystery of man’s place in the world, I do know a place where one can find a world ancient and wise, while at the same time bursting with new life, changing, forming, evolving, a kaleidoscope of natural wonder. Lying in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator some thousand kilometres off the coast of Ecuador are the Galapagos Islands. An ornithologist, geologist and biologist paradise, the myriad species of endemic wildlife in the Galapagos, having no instinctive fear of man, will overwhelm some and inspire all that make the journey to this World Heritage Sanctuary like no other. Although you will be able to boast of having seen an unprecedented list of wildlife - Giant Galapagos tortoise, land and marine iguanas, blue and red footed boobies, sea lions, whales, sharks, dolphins, waved albatross, flamingos, frigates, turtles, eagle rays and orcas to name a few. And these framed in your memory by the ever evolving, sometimes volcanic lunar landscapes, sometimes lush tropical vegetation, green and white sand beaches, mangroves, lakes, lagoons and crystal clear waters. No list, no photos, no National Geographic article will do any justice whatsoever to being immersed in the astonishing flora and fauna of the Galapagos firsthand. However, a word of caution; there is no other place on earth like the Galapagos Islands. And, seek as you may upon your return you will never recapture the mysterious spark that touches all that visit, something unique and exclusive to those that venture the journey.